Hi everyone. :) I wrote this cause I needed a quick break from my new story (which is posted, by the way! It has an M rating, though). This fic will be updated randomly whenever I feel like writing it. As the summary says, it's a collection of one shots about the gang in elementary school. Thanks to Ponyboycurtisissmexy100 for the idea!
This first one takes place when Pony is in grade 3. I've always been a little confused about American cut off dates for what age you are when you enter a grade, but I think this would put Soda in grade 5. Sorry if I have that wrong, but it's not really critical for the story, it just gives you an idea of their ages. Basically, Pony is 8, and Soda is almost 11.
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"Hey Soda, check this out." I glanced toward my best friend's desk and saw him finishing up a sketch in the margin of his notebook. I peered closer and made out the details of a mustang. "That's the car I'm gonna buy when I get my license."
I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Better start saving now, buddy," I teased, and Steve playfully punched my arm in response.
"Mr. Curtis!" Mrs. Richardson's sharp voice cut through the air like a knife. Gulping, I looked towards the front of the room to see her glaring at me and Steve.
"Yes, ma'am?" I asked quietly.
"Since you seem to understand the material so well, can you tell the class the answer to this question?" She pointed to the blackboard behind her, where she'd written a difficult addition question with fractions.
I felt my face turn red as the entire class watched me, waiting for me to answer. I studied the question, but it had different denominators and it always took me ages to make them into one common denominator. My blush deepened as I looked down and shook my head. "No, ma'am," I said softly. I hated being put on the spot in school. I never knew the answer unless I'd had enough time to work it out on paper first, and usually someone else had already answered by the time I was finished.
"Perhaps next time you should pay attention," she admonished, then turned her glare on Steve. "Mr. Randle, do you have the answer?"
"Six over fifteen," Steve said quietly. I turned to him, shocked. He'd been the one doodling. How did he know the answer? He shot me an apologetic look and I went back to staring at the top of my desk, feeling lousy. I tried to convince myself that it was just cause he'd had more time to work it out, but I knew it was just cause I was dumb and he wasn't.
I sulked through the rest of the lesson and only reluctantly picked up my pencil once the work was assigned. I struggled through problem after problem until the clock finally showed only ten minutes till lunch. That's when P.A. speaker in the room blared to life.
"Sodapop Curtis, please report to the principal's office." My head snapped up as a series of "Ooh"s came from the other kids.
"That's enough, everyone," Mrs. Richardson said sternly.
I put my books away in my desk and slowly stood up, throwing a confused look at Steve, who shrugged back at me; I hadn't done anything wrong that I knew of.
The principal's office was at the other end of the hall and I grew more nervous the closer I got. It's not like I'd never been there before, but I'd always known why every other time. When I reached the door, I cautiously poked my head in. To get to Mr. Sanjack's office, you had to go through the main office first. When the secretary saw me, she gave me a gentle smile. "Don't worry, Sodapop. You're not in trouble."
"I'm not?" I asked, taking a step into the room.
"Soda!" A dark shape suddenly came flying at me from the left, nearly knocking me over from the force of the impact. I looked down to see my little brother with his arms wrapped tightly around my waist.
"Pony? What's going on, Mrs Bell?" I asked.
She laughed a little before answering me. "Your brother here was outside for gym class and had a small accident. He was supposed to stay on the cement, but he ran after a ball. The grass was still pretty muddy from the rain last night, and he slipped. He's going to need a change of clothes."
I pried Ponyboy away from me and saw that his pants had thick streaks of mud on them. "Pony, how'd you manage that?" I sighed.
"Sorry, Soda," he whispered, looking down at his feet.
I shook my head and ruffled his hair. "It's okay, Pone." He looked up at me and gave a small smile. "What am I supposed to do about his clothes?" I asked, turning back to Mrs. Bell.
"I called your mom to see if she could bring some, but she's not feeling very well. However, she gave permission for the two of you to go home for lunch and fetch some," she explained.
I nodded and grabbed Pony around the shoulders just as the lunch bell rang. "Alright, kiddo, we'd better get movin'." Pony took hold of my hand and followed me out the door.
The ten minute walk home was spent with Pony telling me all about the mud splatter incident. When we opened the front door, I motioned to Pony to be quiet in case Mom was sleeping. She'd come down with the flu the day before and I didn't want to bother her. I sent Pony into his room to change and quickly made us a couple of sandwiches; I hadn't thought to bring our lunches with us and I doubted we'd be allowed into the school to get them once we got back. Pony ate slowly and when he was finished I ushered him out the door quickly so we wouldn't be late.
He was quiet on the way back to school and I looked at him with concern. "What's wrong, kiddo?" I asked.
"Nothin'" he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"C'mon, you were a regular chatterbox on the way home. Why're you so quiet now?"
Pony was silent for a minute before answering. "I'm afraid Mrs. James will be mad at me." Mrs. James was Pony's teacher and had been my teacher in the third grade, too. She was a short, plump older woman and had been the only teacher I'd ever liked. She never yelled and had never called on me out of the blue. When she wanted me to answer a question, she'd always put a few questions on the board, then she would walk around the class while we wrote and carefully tap a number on my shoulder. Whatever number that was, I worked on that question first so I'd be ready with the answer when she asked. I didn't always get it right, but at least I'd had a fair chance of trying.
"Why would she be mad at you?"
"Cause she told me not to go on the grass and I did anyway."
I shook my head at him. "She won't be mad at you." Pony looked at me doubtfully and I laughed. "I promise, Pone. I'll even take you to class myself and prove it to you."
Pony remained silent the rest of the walk to school. We got there right when the bell rang and, as promised, I walked him to his classroom. As we went in the door, Mrs. James smiled at me.
"Sodapop, it's good to see you," she greeted warmly.
I grinned back and put a hand lightly on my brother's shoulder. "I heard Pony here had a small accident."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. James," Pony said in a quiet voice.
She knelt down to his level and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's alright Ponyboy. But you need to listen to me next time, alright?" Pony nodded, but he still looked scared. While the other students were still putting away their coats, she beckoned us over to her desk and opened the top drawer. I grinned, knowing what that meant. In a container in the front part of the drawer was a collection of candies and chocolates. I watched Pony's eyes go wide at the sight and gave his shoulder another squeeze.
"I told you, Pone." He carefully chose a candy and hurried over to his seat while I grabbed a chocolate for myself. "Thanks, Mrs. James."
"Anytime," she said, smiling. She quickly filled out an admit slip for me and then followed me to the door. "Don't be a stranger, Sodapop." I flashed her one more grin before giving a quick wave to a now smiling Ponyboy and heading reluctantly back to my own class.